What's a girl to do
by MaryJane Weasley
Summary: Ginny is tired of her life in England. She needs a change. Leaving her family and everyone she knows behind, will she manage on her own in a whole new country? Will she find her soulmate? What's a girl to do if he's not what she expected?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I should be updating my other stories I know that. I also know that I promised myself to complete this story before publishing it. Unfortunately, that promise didn't work out. The thing is that I got stuck and figured if I get some feedback on the first couple of chapters then it would be easier to continue with the story. I have most of it planned out already it's just the writing it out that has to be done. I just realised what a long author's note this will be but bear with me.

Moving on the the actual story. The first chapter is a little different than the rest since it focuses around Ginny's parents and brother. The rest will mostly be written in third person from Ginny's point of view. The main pairing it will contain is Draco/Ginny (one of my personal favourites, obviously since I'm writing about them) however it might take a while before Draco comes into the picture. I will not say much more in order to not spoil anything but I'm sure that most of you can catch on after a few chapters.

Please review! Chapter 2 is done and ready to be published as soon as I get some feedback. On the the story!

* * *

**What's a girl to do?**

What's a girl to do when she's bored of her boyfriend?

_Why__, dump him, of course!_

What's a girl to do if her family absolutely adores her boyfriend?

_Tell them__, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if she hates her job?

_Quit__, of course!_

What's a girl to do if her boss adores her a little to much and pinches her butt in a way she finds uncomfortable?

_Tell him of__, course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if all she wants is freedom?

_Get it, of course!_

What's a girl to do if her brothers watch her like hawks all the time?

_Tell them__, of course!_

Yeah right!

There was really only one thing a girl can do in a situation like this.

Run away.

"Mum, have you seen Ginny?"

"I think she's up in her room dear!" Molly called from the kitchen. "Please tell her that dinner will be ready in a minute!"

"I will!" Ron called back as he raced up the stairs. "Ginny! Where are you? I have got something to tell you!"

He had been bursting to tell someone since he made the decision this morning and he knew Ginny would want to be the first to hear.

"Ginny, I know you're up there!" he knocked on the door a couple of times before turning the handle. It wouldn't budge. "Ginny open up! Come on, I need to talk to you! Ginny?"

He put his ear against the door and listened carefully. Not a sound could be heard. After a few more attempts to open the door, he went back down to the kitchen.

"Why has she locked herself in her room?" he asked his mum confused. "Did something happen?"

"Has she locked the door? That's not like her. Maybe she had a row with someone, I don't know. I'm sure Arthur can get her to come out when he gets home. Now help me set the table."

While taking plates out from the cupboard, Ron tried to think of all the possible reasons why his sister would lock herself up inside her room. She had been just fine the day before and he had spent the entire day with Harry so he couldn't be the problem. It had been Ginny's day off so her boss couldn't have done anything to put her in a bad mood. The rest of his brothers had all been busy today so they couldn't have bugged her. She could have had an argument with one of her friends but that wasn't very likely.

No matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with even one possible reason.

He finished setting glasses in front of all five of the plates. One for mum, one for dad, one for Ginny, one for himself and one that his mum always insisted on placing in case one of her other children showed up unannounced, which was a common thing to happen.

"Welcome home!" Molly greeted her husband with a happy smile and a peck on the cheek when he stepped through the door. "How's your day been?" She helped him get out of his coat and went out in the hall to hang it on one of the pegs.

"As usual," he answered as she stepped back into the kitchen. "Nothing really exiting happened today, only a few explosions of Muggle things but it was easily taken care of. How has it been going around here?"

"Just fine," Molly answered while placing the pots and pans with food on the table. "I've prepared most of the things for Charlie's birthday next week, now we all just have to hope that he will come visit as he promised."

"Don't worry, he would never miss your wonderful baking on his birthday. What have you been up to today, Ron? You look like you have something you want to say," he commented as he saw the shining grin on his son's face. Ron tried his best to hide it but it proved to be impossible.

"I do have something to tell you, but I want Ginny to be here when I do."

"Well, let's get her down here then so we can eat and hear the news. She's up in her room isn't she?" The smiles disappeared from both Molly's and Ron's faces.

"She's locked herself in her room and Ron couldn't get her to talk to him," Molly explained.

"Do you think that you could try?" Ron asked.

"Sure, I'll do my best. Just make sure to keep dinner warm."

He walked quickly up the stairs to his daughter's room and knocked softly on the door.

"Ginny? Are you there?"

No answer. He knocked a bit harder.

"Ginny! Open up!"

Still no answer. He knocked even harder.

"Young lady, if you don't have this door open in 10 seconds then I will open it myself! 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door opened slowly. The room was dark so Arthur had to light his wand in order to see. The room was empty. Completely empty. Wardrobe doors and cupboards were all open and cleared out. The only things left were the furniture, a box with some random things on the bedside table, and a flower vase on the windowsill beneath the open window. It looked as if it had never been inhabited at all.

Arthur walked carefully around the room in shock. Something white suddenly caught his eye. It was an envelope laying on the pillow. He picked it up and read the front. He recognised Ginny's neat handwriting immediately.

_To mum and dad and the rest of my family. _

_I love you all._

_Ginny._

He turned it around and opened it.

"Should we go up and see how it's going for dad?" Ron asked. His stomach grumbled and he pulled a face. Waiting for dinner, or food in general, was one of the worst things he knew. Especially when he was hungry. Which was always.

"I'm sure they'll be down any moment. Listen, I can hear them walking down the stairs right now."

The steps were slow and heavy, as if the person walking was very drunk, or very sad.

"Did you get Ginny to come out, dear?" Molly asked as Arthur entered the kitchen.

"She's gone," he answered quietly. He kept staring at the paper in his hand while speaking.

"What was that dear? I didn't quite catch it."

"She's gone. This is all she left."

He handed the letter to a confused Molly. She seemed about ready to faint by the time she had finished reading it. She grabbed the closest chair for support.

"She's gone," she repeated as quietly as he had. Arthur nodded sadly.

Ron took the letter from his mother's hand and was just as surprised as he read it himself.

_Dear mum and dad (and everyone else of course),_

_By the time you read this I will have left. Due to many reasons I won't tell you where I've gone. I want you to know that I've always loved you and always will and it's not your fault that it turned out this way. It's just something I have to do for myself._

_My relationship with Harry hasn't been the best lately and he knows that. Please tell him that even though I've always loved him__, I don't think I will ever fall in love with him, no matter how much I want to. I think this will be best for the both of us. Also, tell him I left all the stuff I've borrowed from him in a box in my room and that he's welcome to take it back._

_Tell Bill to kiss his son goodnight from me every night. I'll miss them very much._

_Wish Charlie a v__ery happy birthday. Tell him I'm sorry that I missed it but that I hid his present in the tree-house in our garden, I'm sure he'll find it if he just look around for a while. _

_Wish Percy good luck at work (not that he needs it) and good luck with his marriage (__**that**__ he needs)._

_I hope Fred and George will keep up the good work with their shop, it's really amazing. Also tell Fred to get over his committement issues already and ask Angelina to marry him. _

_Let Ron know that he's the best brother anyone can ever wish for (as are the rest of them). They have all always been there for me and I hope I've shown how grateful I am even though they can all be large prats at times._

_Also, tell Ron to not wait to long before proposing to Hermione. They deserve to be happy together. (Yes, I know he's going to even though he hasn't said anything because it's so obvious. And because Harry told me they were going ring-shopping together soon. Don't worry though, Hermione doesn't have a clue.) _

_I love you all with all my heart and hope that you all understand that I have to do this. Take care._

_Love, _

_Ginny Weasley_

Ron stared out the window with a smile on his face and tears forming in his eyes. Of course he was sad that his sister had run away, but mostly he was relieved that she had at least known about his upcoming engagement.

--

Arthur was also staring out the window. He couldn't believe his little girl had left. He shook his head as he reminded himself that was wasn't as little anymore and that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. That didn't matter however. No matter how old she was or where she was, she would always be his little baby girl.

--

Molly stared at the photograph of Ginny that hung on the wall. That Ginny was smiling, looking as if she couldn't be happier. Molly couldn't understand that her girl had run away, but she had. All they could do now, was accept it.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I noticed some formatting errors in the first two chapters. They are now fixed. Enjoy reading and don't forget to review!

* * *

Chapter 2

What's a girl to do if she's scared of airplanes?

_Not get on one, of course!_

What's a girl to do if it's the only way out of a country?

_Stay in the country, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if she's feeling nauseous on the airplane?

_Throw up, of course!_

What's a girl to do if there is a really cute guy sitting next to her?

_Throw up anyway, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if she threw up on the cute guy next to her?

_Ap__pologize, of course!_

What's a girl to do if he got really mad and told the air crew and they threw her off the plane?

_Die of shame, of course!_

Well, it is a good thing that didn't happen then.

--

After the horrible flight it felt safe to be on the ground again. Ginny had felt nauseous the entire trip but had managed to keep the food down, not that she had eaten much of that dreadful so-called food they served on the airplane anyway. Now, she was finally here, in America. It was amazing. She gazed around in awe. All the cars, people and buildings were so different and wonderful. Most wonderful of all however was the building right in front of her. The University of Marley.

Ever since Ginny was a little girl, one of her biggest dreams had been to study at a university. In the wizarding world it wasn't necessary, everything you needed to know for a job, that wasn't learnt at Hogwarts, was taught once you started working. In the muggle world it didn't work that way. Most of the time anyway. Her father's fascination with muggles had rubbed off on her at some point, and she had begun getting more and more interested in the muggle world and especially their schools. She had borrowed books from her father and read them in her tree-house when no one had noticed. When she decided it was time to run away there had been no doubt in her mind that she would live as a muggle when she finally gained enough courage to take off.

She had prepared herself a long time in advance. The only reason she had stayed at that horrible place she called work was to earn enough money to pay for the school. It wasn't cheap. She was lucky that her brother's had let her work in their shop and that they had payed her way more than she deserved for the small amount of work she actually did. She didn't mind though, the faster she had the money, the faster she could escape.

She hadn't changed much about her appearance, mostly the hair. She had shortened the waist-long copper-red hair so it barely reached her shoulders and dyed it a dark brown colour. Her freckles had mostly disappeared sometime during puberty but she had still charmed away those that had stayed. Now she was standing here, wind blowing her short brown hair around her freckle-less face, admiring the building in front of her.

It was a huge building. No, correction, there were **many **huge buildings. It reminded her a bit of Hogwarts, but at the same time it was completely different. An enormous staircase led up to a pair of large front doors. Ginny took a deep breath before ascending the stairs. She entered a hallway that seemed to lead a thousand different ways. Now it definitely resembled Hogwarts. She saw a huge sign, which looked like a map, on the wall and walked over to it. She sighed the second she was close enough to see it properly. It was too complicated to even try to understand.

"You seem lost. Do you need any help?" Ginny swung around. A tall man with long blond hair and a piercing in his left eyebrow was standing there flashing a smile at her. Wow, he was handsome.

"Um.Yes please. It's my first day here. I need to find the office where I announce myself and this map isn't too much of a help," she gestured behind her. The man chuckled.

"It's really simple once you know the school a bit. It won't take long, I promise. Come on, I'll show where to sign in."

He led her down one of the hallways to the right and then took a left and then a right again. Ginny tried her best to memorize the way, it could be useful. Every hallway they went through was lined with door after door, each one numbered. It would definitely take a while before learning one's way through all this.

"Are you from Britain?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, I am," she answered politely.

"I could tell on the accent. Did you just move here?"

Ginny nodded in response. It was hard to small talk while trying to keep up with his long strides and the complicated hallway-system. The guy didn't seem to notice though. He kept talking, mostly about himself, but also some useful (and unuseful) facts about the school and the town in general. From what Ginny could understand from his vague explanations had he moved here a few years ago. She never heard exactly why but it felt impolite to ask.

He also talked about his friends; one guy who had lived here his entire life and knew every single place inside out, one girl who organized the best parties on campus, another girl who was just a friend, a guy who also was British, one 'Asian dude' he sat next to in Math in order to get at least a passing grade, and a few other ones. He mentioned them all so fast, Ginny didn't catch the name of a single one.

"Here we are!" he announced suddenly. He was standing in front of a door with the words 'Main Office' written on it. He held the door open for her and then followed her inside. The office, just like everything else, was big. There were a bunch of chairs for waiting visitors and a large counter that divided the room in half. On the other side of the counter was doors leading to different rooms, probably smaller offices for the principal, vice principal and so on.

"Hey, miss C! I've got a new student for you here!" the blond man called into one of the offices. "She'll be out in a second," he added to Ginny. Sure enough, only a moment after he had called, a short dark-haired woman with white streaks showing her age came out of the closest office.

"Well hello there!" she greeted with a warm smile. "You must be the new student from England. Pleasure to meet you. I'm miss Cholmondeley, but you can call me miss C as everyone else around here has decided to do," she gave the man a pointed look as if he had been the one to start this trend. "I'm the vice principal here at the school," she added.

"I'm Catherine Walker," Ginny said. It had taken a while to decide on a new name. She had finally taken Catherine, he middle name, and Walker since it was a common surname that didn't look like Weasley too much, but still enough that if she were to write or even say it by accident, no one would notice. Afterwards, she had practiced many times to write it, so when she was finally going to use it, it would come naturally.

"Nice to meet you, miss Walker! Here are some forms to fill in, boring paperwork, I know, but necessary nonetheless. Here are keys to your dorm, you're roommate has already settled in since it's almost the middle of the term so she might be there when you get there. Here is your timetable, a map of the school et cetera. I hope you'll enjoy Marley University!" she added with a bright smile.

"I'm sure I will," Ginny answered, also smiling widely.

"Edward, would you mind showing miss Walker to the correct dorm. You seem to have been doing a great job helping her so far. If I'm not mistaken you'll have one or two classes together so it might be good for her to know at least someone a bit better."

"Sure thing miss C," he said and did some salute while gently guiding Ginny out the door. "Come on then," he said and started leading her through the maze of corridors again.

"Which building was it again, Cathy? Is it okay if I call you Cathy by the way, it's so much faster to shorten people's names."

"It's building five, and yes, it's okay to call me Cathy. What should I call you then?"

"Eddie is fine, that's what most people say. Some, the really lazy ones, just call me Ed."

"Eddie it is then."

Eddie asked her questions all the way. He wanted to know where in England she came from, why she moved here, if she had a family and so on. Ginny answered everything with lies she had thought through carefully while planning everything else for her escape. She said she was from Liverpool, that she hated soccer so he shouldn't even try to ask her anything about the team (this was more a way of getting out of discussing soccer with anyone since she really knew nothing about it). She said she had moved because she simply couldn't stand the sight of old boring England anymore, which was partly true except it was the people she couldn't stand. She said she had a few brothers but that she barely talked to them because of a large age difference, but didn't go into more detail than that.

"Here it is!" he finally said. "Building five, room 324. I hope you'll like it here."

"Thank you so much for your help. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"I think you will, we have class together first thing in the morning. Try to not get lost on the way."

She laughed, "It's not my fault the campus is so big. Besides, I'll wish for a roommate as helpful as you and I'm sure it will be fine."

"I'm sure it will," he echoed. "I have to get going now. See you tomorrow!" he waved and ran off.

Ginny opened the door to her room. It was a decent size unlike everything else which was freakishly huge. There was a tiny hall which led to an average-sized living room and a small kitchen. Inside the living room were two doors leading to what she thought must be bedrooms.

"Hello?" she called out. "Anybody here?" she heared sounds from one of the bedrooms and stood still until the door to the left opened. Out came a fairly short girl. She had long blond straight hair, a pretty face with just enough make-up on to bring out the beauty in it. Her clothes were perfectly matched but a bit more revealing than something Ginny would wear.

"You're Catherine?" the girl said with a not so pleased look on her face. Compared to her, Ginny must look like someone living on the street.

"Yes, I am," Ginny answered a bit intimidated by the girl.

"I'm Joyce. You can take the room that's left because I'm not moving from mine. Stay out of my stuff, don't spread yours and I think we'll get along just fine," she said very quickly and ended with a smile that was anything but polite. When she was finished she went straight back into the room she had come from.

Ginny dropped her bags on the floor in sheer exhaustion. So what if she didn't have the nicest roommate. She would get through this anyway. She would.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I was planning on waiting to update until I had received at least two reviews per chapter but since I have been finished with this chapter for some time I couldn't wait any longer. Chapter four is also finished and almost ready to be published. Please review! Tell me if you like it, tell me if you hate it and in that case what you hate about it too. Constructive criticism is always welcome. The more you review the more motivated I will be to update as quickly as possible.  
I hope you'll enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 3

What's a girl to do if her roommate is horrible?

_Switch roommate__, of course!_

What's a girl to do if it's impossible?

_Talk to her current one and work out the problem__, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if her teacher hates her?

_Find out what the problem is, of course!_

What's a girl to do if she already knows it is because she was late for her first class?

_Appologize and m__ake it up to her, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

What's a girl to do if things don't go the way she planned?

_Keep trying__, of course!_

What's a girl to do if all she really wants to do is go back home?

_Give up and go home to her waiting family, of course!_

Yeah right!

--

Ginny's first week had been absolutely horrible. It had all started with her stupid alarm not going off when it was supposed to. Combined with the enormous school that was impossible to find one's way through, it had led to Ginny being late for class. The teacher had not been pleased. She had given Ginny a dirty look that could easily have matched Draco Malfoy's one back at Hogwarts.

The teacher, whose name was Mrs. Wilkinson, was in her early fifty's and had greying hair just like Miss C. Her face resembled professor McGonagall's but the expression on it was, if possible, even stricter. Her way of addressing the students made even professor Snape seem polite and caring.

Luckily, Eddie had waited for her after class to show how to get to the next one. They didn't get much time to talk since people constantly interrupted them to greet Eddie. It seemed like he was very well-known at the school. He was polite enough to introduce Ginny but most of the people barely seemed to notice her. She didn't mind, she was used to being in the background. The less attention she drew to herself the better.

Her other classes had been fine. The teachers were nice and the lessons interesting. Ginny had even gotten to know some of her other classmates. One was called Diane. She was one of the few who had introduced herself back when stopping to talk to Eddie. Ginny had quite a few classes with her and it felt good to have someone other than Eddie to talk to.

Diane was originally from Manhattan. She wasn't very much used to this tiny little town they lived in, but she seemed to like it anyway. She loved to talk and she was extremely curious about England, even more than Eddie had been. Diane had never been there herself.

"There's another guy here who also is from England. He moved here quite a few years ago but didn't start at this school until last year. You should totally meet him, he's so gorgeous and great to talk to, I bet you'll love him," Diane said one day when they were walking from class.

"Sure," was all Ginny had said. She didn't really want to meet someone from England. The chance that a wizard whom had gone to Hogwarts now lived in the same tiny little town as her was very slim, but on the other hand, one could never know.

"Great! I think Eddie is meeting him by the coffee place after lessons finish. I'm sure they won't mind if we come along. I'll meet you by the fountain at four, ok? Great!" she finished and ran off to not be late for class.

"Great," Ginny sighed quietly.

--

The coffee place was the place practically everyone went to after school. If you didn't have too much homework or essays to do, this is where you went. Even if you happened to have a lot to do, you still came here first to get some caffeine to get through the afternoon.

When Ginny and Diane arrived there was a surprisingly small amount of people there. Ginny spotted Eddie's blond hair in the corner immediately. He was sitting with a few other people all sipping coffee or tea or something else.

"Let's buy something before greeting them," Diane said. She bought a large cup of lemon tea. Ginny only got a plain cup of coffee, it was what she usually drank. Just like her brothers, she was pretty much addicted to having at least one cup in the morning before being able to think clearly. Once they had payed they walked over to the little group in the corner.

"Oh look! Here comes Diane with the new girl!" someone burst out.

"She has a name, Pete!" a girl Ginny remembered being called Chloe said and smacked the guy called Pete on the back of his head.

"Ow," he said and nursed his aching head. "That hurts!" he said with an overly dramatic sad voice. Chloe rolled her eyes at him.

"Hi Cathy, hi Diane? What brings you here?" Eddie asked.

"We just finished and we heard you were going to be here so we couldn't resist coming," Diane playfully teased.

"Because I'm so charming?" Eddie proudly asked.

"No, because we wanted to see what trouble you would cause here today," Diane said while putting an arm around his shoulders. She turned to Ginny, "Did you know that he got thrown out of here once because was going to throw a book at someone over there," she pointed towards the entrance doors opposite the cash register," and he accidentally hit an employee behind the counter."

Ginny laughed with the rest of the table. She hadn't know Eddie for long but she knew his aiming was not the best and could really imagine something like that happen.

"It was an accident," Eddie mumbled and crossed his arms.

"Hey, new girl, what was your name again?" Pete asked when the laughter had subsided.

"Gi...Catherine," Ginny was mentally panicking that she had just caught herself on time before saying the wrong name.

"You were from England, right?" he continued, apparently not noticing her slip of tongue.

"Yes, that is correct," Ginny answered fidgeting with her cup while waiting for her nervousness to wash away. She was extremely grateful that no one seemed to have noticed her almost saying the wrong name.

"Great!" another guy exclaimed, "Then Dave here finally have someone to talk to," he said and slapped the guy whose name apparently was Dave on the back.

"As I have told you before, we have the same language as you, just different accents," Dave explained slowly.

Ginny couldn't understand why she hadn't noticed him before when they walked in. Diane had been right, he was very gorgeous, if that word was enough. His short darkbrown hair was styled into an organized mess. His face was as close to perfect as one could get and his clothing also, not a single wrinkle on his dark-grey shirt. She didn't see too much of his body but she could tell from the way the shirt fit the upper part, that there were definitely some muscles hiding underneath. His accent wasn't that clear, but compared to the other people around the table, you could tell he was from Britain. His accent must have been trained away during the years he had lived here.

"I don't care what you say, I still say it's a different language," the guy, whose name Ginny was pretty sure was Joshua, said while taking a bite of the bagel in front of him. Dave rolled his eyes.

After that the conversation drifted off to more school-related stuff, with some bickering between Eddie and Diane thrown in every once in a while. Ginny tried her best to follow conversation but her gaze kept drifting towards Dave. He was really handsome. She barely noticed when Diane got up.

"I'll be off now. Are you coming too Cathy? Cathy?!"

"What?" Ginny was drawn out of her thoughts.

"Where is your head today? I said I'm off, are you coming or do you want to stay for a while?"

"I'll come with you," Ginny said while trying to keep a blush from taking over her cheeks. She couldn't believe she had been so caught up in staring at Dave that she hadn't noticed Diane talk to her.

"I'll come too," Chloe added. "I have some homework to get done. See you guys tomorrow!"

Several goodbyes were heard from the guys when the girl walked out.

They dropped Diane off at her dorm first since it was the closest. After some chitchat and smalltalk Ginny and Chloe said goodbye and continued walking towards Ginny's dorm.

"I noticed how you were looking at Dave in there," Chloe stated suddenly. She turned to face Ginny after seeing the grave look in her dark-blue eyes Ginny could tell that there was a serious point to this conversation.

"I wasn't...," Ginny started but were interrupted by Chloe.

"Don't try to deny it. I'm not judging you or anything so don't get offended. I mean, he is terribly gorgeous. I just thought I should give you a warning. He has a girlfriend, a good-looking one at that. They're pretty serious from what I know so don't try to make a move on him or anything 'cause she'll crush you. Or try to at least," she finished with a small laugh.

"I really didn't have that in mind," Ginny said and Chloe scoffed. "Really!" She tried to sound a bit more convincing. They both started walking again.

"Whatever, I just thought I'd inform you so you don't make a move and then get turned down and start questioning yourself and all that. Believe me it has happened," she added at Ginny's sceptical look. "I'm turning here," Chloe said and they waved goodbye.

Ginny was deep in her thoughts when she arrived at her room. She hadn't been planning on hitting on Dave. Really. She just found him handsome and had found it difficult to look away from him. That was it. Even if it hadn't been like that she would just have to convince herself that that was the way it was. It wasn't like she would get together with him now anyway, she couldn't. All because of his stupid girlfriend whoever she was.

"Oh, you're here," Joyce greeted when she stepped out of her room. "Good. I'm bringing my boyfriend over tonight so stay in your room or stay out of the house. We want some privacy."

With that, she left.

Ginny sighed. Another roommate was on the top of her wish-list at this moment. That and a boyfriend as gorgeous as Dave.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Un(?)pleasant surprise

What's a girl to do if the guy she likes has a girlfriend?

_Stay away from him, of course!_

What's a girl to do if she has the same friends as him?

_Find another guy to like, of course!_

Yeah, right!

----------

What's a girl to do if she happens to like her roommate's boyfriend?

_Stay away from him, of course_!

What's a girl to do if he is the most gorgeous guy she's ever seen, and she has seen _all_ of him?

_Definitely stay away from him, of course!_

Yeah, right!

--------------

What's a girl to do if the guy she likes who has the same friends as she also happens to be her roommate's boyfriend who she has accidentally seen naked?

_There's not much _to_ do, you're in trouble!_

This is not good!

--------------

This was not supposed to happen. Really. A girl should be allowed to enter the bathroom in her room without a wonderful guy standing naked in there still wet after taking a shower. Especially if it is a guy she can't have because he is her roommate's boyfriend!

Ok, let's take a minute and recap.

Ginny woke up in the morning at 7:15, a little earlier than she was used to. She had gone to bed earlier much than usual since it was not much to do in her room. She had followed Joyce's intructions and stayed in her room out of fear that Joyce would strangle her if she ruined her date.

When she had got up in the morning, she hadn't bothered getting dressed since it was only her and Joyce in the apartment (she thought) and she was only going to the bathroom anyway. When she arrived at the bathroom, it wasn't far to walk since it was in the apartment, in only a pair of old blue boxers and a matching tank top, she hadn't bothered to wait and listen at the door. After all, why should she? As far as she was concerned it was only Joyce and her there.

When she opened the door she was met by the sight of a naked men. A really gorgeous, beautiful naked man. A really gorgeous, beautiful naked man named Dave. Her chin dropped to the floor and she was unable to move. She stared at him, he stared at her. It felt like they stood there for an eternity.

The second Ginny realised what situation she was in, her hand flew up and covered her eyes. At the same time she saw a towel being pulled off a stand and probably brought to cover his nether regions.

"I'll just....wait outside," Ginny managed to get out.

She could not believe her eyes. She had just seen Dave stand naked in her bathroom. How could that be possible? The answer was evident within a few seconds.

"Daaaaaviiiiid!" Joyce's shrill voice could be heard clearly from her bedroom. Before Ginny had any time to react, Joyce came out of her room, dressed in only a morning robe. "Oh. You're up," she said with a disgusted look at Ginny as soon as she spotted her.

Ginny didn't know what to say. Only a moment later, Dave stepped out of the bathroom, now fully dressed.

"_Wow_," Ginny thought, "_he sure dresses quickly_."

"There you are!" Joyce greeted with a sickening sweet smile on her face. "I didn't notice you got up." She pressed herself close to him and gave him a longer kiss than necessary, probably just to show off in front of Ginny. Then she turned around. "This is my boyfriend, David. David this is my roommate."

"Nice to meet you," Dave greeted and shook Ginny's hand. Ginny was dumbstruck. Hadn't he noticed what had just happened in the bathroom?!

"I'll just get changed and then we can go out for breakfast, ok?" Joyce said while flashing another fake smile at Dave. She didn't wait for an answer but instead leaned in for another kiss before leaving the room.

Dave waited until the door had closed before speaking. "Sorry about that, the pretending-to-never-have-seen-you thing. It just felt easier than having to explain the thing that happened before."

Ginny just nodded dumbly. This whole situation was too weird for her too handle this early in the morning.

"Are you ok?" Dave asked with a worried look on his face. Ginny then realised how stupid she must seem, just standing there. She needed to say something to show that she wasn't affected by his presens in any way.

"I thought your name was Dave," she said and immediately cursed herself. '_I thought your name was Dave'_? Was that really the only thing she could think of saying?

Whether it was or not, it was the first thing that had left her mouth.

Dave laughed in response. Wow, he had a beautiful laugh. "It is in a way. My full name is David but you know Eddie. He has some sort of policy against using people's full names so he has called me Dave since I first met him. I take it Cathy is short for something as well."

"Yes. Catherine."

They fell into silence. It wasn't any sort of akward silence, it was just the kind of silence that emerges when neither of the only two people in a room have anything special to say.

Ginny couldn't help her eyes drifting over to stare at him and it didn't take long to notice that he was staring at her as well. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

Then Joyce arrived and ruined their wonderful moment.

--------------

"Wait, so tell me again," Diane said while she and Ginny were having lunch later that day. "You walk into the bathroom and then what happens?"

"Dave is standing there, completely naked. I freeze and can't do anything for ages. Then I realise what is actually happening so I cover my eyes and walk out of there."

Diane laughed. "That must be the funniest thing that has happened here in I don't know how long." She kept laughing and Ginny joined her. The whole experience was kind of funny to look back at now. "So?" Diane said with a suggestive smile.

"So, what?" Ginny asked confused.

"What did he look like?" Diane asked simply.

"I'm not going to describe it to you?" Ginny almost shouted in shock.

"I'm asking you to describe it. Just compare a bit. Was it big?"

"Diane, stop it! We're eating here!" Ginny changed her voice into a whisper, realising that there were other people in the lunchroom turning around to see what the fuss was all about.

"I know. I'm just curious," Diane said and turned back to her food. "So what happened afterwards? Did he tell Joyce about the incident?"

"No he didn't. When she stepped out of her room he pretended to just have met me. The thing that struck me the most though," Ginny said, wanting to get away from the subject of Dave. She might have been able to tell Diane about the 'incident' as they now referred to it as, but to tell her that she had a crush on Dave was not an option. "was that she introduced me as 'roommate'. She didn't even mention my name."

"I bet she doesn't even know it," Diane scoffed. "It would be so typical Joyce."

"Do you know Joyce from before?" Ginny asked surprised. She only thought Diane knew about Joyce from what Ginny had told her.

"Only a bit. We went to the same yoga class for a while and there was a lot of gossip in the locker rooms. Most of it was about her."

"She likes to talk about herself," Ginny stated.

"Oh yes. I almost feel sorry for Dave. He deserves someone better who can listen to him every once in a while too. But if he likes her, who am I to stop him."

Ginny couldn't help feeling a twinge of hope at what Diane said. If she didn't like Dave's girlfriend, but she liked Ginny, then maybe she would like Ginny as Dave's girlfriend.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Diane's voice. "Anyway, there's a party next Friday. I really hope you can come. It would be so much fun!"

"I don't know," Ginny started. Parties had never really been her thing. "I don't think I have anything to wear."

"Nonsense. I'll come over to your place a couple of hours before it starts and I'll bring something you can wear too just in case we really don't find anything in your closet. Come on! It will be fun!" she begged when she saw Ginny's unconvinced look.

"All right then. I'll come," Ginny sighed.

"Great! Oh boy, I have to run now! Catch ya later!" she said, dropped some money on the table and took off.

Maybe a party wouldn't be so bad. She could always hope Dave would be there. But then he would have to be there without Joyce and her not attending a party was not very likely. Oh, well, one could always dream.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Party time

What's a girl to do if there's a party she really doesn't want to go to?

Not go to it, of course!

What's a girl to do if her friends force her to?

Fake illness, of course!

Yeah, right!

----------------

What's a girl to do if she doesn't have any clothes to wear?

Buy some, of course!

What's a girl to do if she doesn't have enough money for it?

Happily accept what her friends offer her, of course!

Yeah, right!

----------------

What's a girl to do if she is pulled away to a party she doesn't want to go to, in a dress her mother would faint if she saw?

Bear it and smile, of course!

Of course.

-----------------

Ginny could not believe she had been talked into this. Parties of any kind had never been her thing. She had even sometimes dreaded her birthday because she had known that her mum would insist on throwing her a big party even though their budget barely allowed it.

This was way worse than any birthday party or party in the Gryffindor common room that she had ever been to. It was being held in someone's house, she hadn't bothered to find out whose but she felt truly sorry for the person who had to clean up all this mess afterwards. And without magic!

It seemed like the entire campus had been invited, there were so many people. Still, there were not that many whom Ginny recognised. Joyce was there, just like Ginny had expected, and so was Diane and Chloe, who were the ones who had forced this so-called dressed on her and pulled her with them here. Other than that, the only other people she had recognised were Eddie, Joshua and some guy from her literature class who she just couldn't remember the name of.

Dave wasn't there, much to her surprise, and disappointment. Maybe he hated parties as much as she did, but had enough backbone to stand up against his friends when they tried to pull him along. Though it did seem a bit suspicious that Joyce would have let him get away with it.

Ginny was standing by the same wall she had since they arrived a few hours ago. Suddenly she felt an arm snake around her shoulders. Out of instinct she pulled away, and it seemed to have been a good decision.

"Hey there," a dark-haired guy she was sure she had never seen before greeted. "What do you say about a little dance?" he asked suggestively, staring down her not so concealing cleavage. Ginny crossed her arms to cover herself up a bit more. She could tell the guy was more than a little drunk from the way he was swaying back and forth.

"No thank you," she answered simply and turned her back on him.

"Oh, come on! Just a little one," he begged and playfully pinched her arse. This she had not expected.

Ginny tried to move away but he closed in on her much faster than she could react. In just a moment he had her pretty much pushed up against the wall while trying to feel her up as best as he could while she struggled to get out of his grip.

She struggled uselessly and was almost about to give up when suddenly the guy was lifted away from her.

"What do you think you're doing?" It was Joshua who spoke. Ginny sighed in relief; someone had come to her rescue.

"Come on, man. I was just having a bit of fun," the guy explained. "With a dress like that she's pretty much begging for it." Ginny gasped in astonishment. Had he really said that?

Joshua clenched his fist into a ball. "I suggest you stay away from her unless you want that nose of yours broken. She's with me you see." The other guy was very small compared to Joshua and even despite being as drunk as he was, he seemed willing to avoid a fight and slowly backed away with his arms thrown up in surrender. "Are you ok?" Joshua asked concerned when the guy was out of sight.

"Yeah," Ginny breathed, still in a bit of shock. "Thank you for that," she said gratefully and gave him a small smile to show that she really was ok.

"Good," he said and smiled back. "Hey listen," he said after a moment of awkward silence. "This party really sucks and I'm about to head off. Do you want a ride somewhere?"

Ginny deliberated for a while. She had made an appearance so Diane couldn't blame her for not coming at all, and the thought of going back home was very appealing at this stage. What did she even have to think about?

"Let me just get my coat and then we can go."

---------------------

"Thanks again for what you did back there," Ginny said for what must have been the billionth time.

"You're welcome," Joshua laughed. Apparently he found her gratefulness amusing. "Really, it's no big deal."

They were sitting in Joshua's car, driving down the main road that led straight back to the campus. The car stereo was on and Joshua was drumming his fingers on the wheel to the rhythm of the music. Ginny couldn't help but glancing over at him. He wasn't nearly as handsome as Dave, but there was definitely something attractive about him. She immediately tried to shake the thought out of her head. She hadn't come to this side of the pond to find a boyfriend the second she arrived. What was wrong with her? Did she really miss having someone around all the time so much that she would go for the first guy that crossed her path?

She couldn't help but to think about Harry. Sure he had been nice and all but he had never been much more than a brother. The thought of finding someone who could actually be a real boyfriend was very tempting. She glanced back at Joshua. But would she really risk screwing up a potential friendship just to find that as quickly as possible?

Her dilemma was solved not seconds later by the signal of Joshua's phone.

"Josh here!" he answered brightly, "Hey sweetheart! What? Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can. Love you, bye!"

Ginny looked curiously at him but he interrupted before she could ask anything.

"Hey, do you have anything special to do now?"

"No," she answered slowly. Her only plan for the evening was to go to sleep.

"Good. You see, my girlfriend works at a bar just a few miles away. Her car broke down on the way over there and she's asking me to drive her home. I could drop you off first if you want. Otherwise I'm sure she'd be happy to meet you! What do you say?"

Ginny didn't have much time for deliberation; Joshua's dazzling smile was hard to say no to.

"Sure, why not."

"Great!"

Ginny found it weird that he had asked her to come along. She had expected him to want to be alone with his girlfriend. Maybe he just wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

--------------

The bar must have been the cosiest one Ginny had ever seen. It wasn't what she had expected with loud old drunk men cheering on the latest soccer game while ordering more and more beer. This one was extremely calm. Mostly couples were there, but she could spot some single people as well. Classic music was playing in the background and in one of the corners was a dance floor. Three couples were dancing, the pairs very close to each other and gazing into each others' eyes. All in all, the place was very romantic.

"What do you think?" Joshua asked when they stepped inside.

"It's lovely," Ginny said, amazement in her voice.

"I thought you'd like it. Come on, I want you to meet my girlfriend." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the counter. "Wait here," he ordered and disappeared behind a door.

Ginny took the opportunity to gaze around some more.

The place basically breathed cosiness. There were dark red couches along the walls with fluffy pillows everywhere. Some tables were also set up, but always the size so it could only fit two people.

"Can I help you with something?" a voice asked behind her.

"No, I'm just waiting for...." she trailed off when she who had spoken. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Dave?" she asked in surprise.

He looked just as shocked as she was but composed himself in a second. "Yes. What are you doing here?"

"I'm just waiting for..." she started but was once again interrupted.

"Here she is. I swear to you, her accent is even clearer than Dave's." _So that was why he brought her here._ "Speaking of Dave, I didn't know you'd be working tonight." Josh entered the room with a young woman trailing close behind. Josh was looking curiously at Dave as if waiting for him to explain his presence. The woman, however, kept her eyes firmly on Ginny. Ginny wasn't sure, but she could almost have sworn the woman's eyes looked apologetic.

Before anyone could say anything, the background music switched to a much faster and louder beat and in a second everyone was up on the floor dancing.

"I love this song!" Joshua exclaimed. "Let's dance!" he practically screamed and dragged his girlfriend towards the middle of the room.

Dave rolled his eyes, picked up a towel and a glass and started drying it. Ginny couldn't think of anything else to do but wait so she took a seat at the counter across from where Dave stood.

She studied his movements as he cleaned one glass after another. The way his hands worked were so skilful and precise.

"I didn't know I was so fascinating," Dave stated once the song switched to a lower volume and tempo.

"I'm sorry..." Ginny started but was interrupted by his chuckle. What a wonderful sound it was. "This is a really wonderful place," she said instead to change the subject.

"Really?" he asked and raised an eyebrow. "It makes me nauseous." The disgust was barely detectable.

"What makes you say that? It's so cosy with all the couches and the music and all. It almost reminds me of Ho...me," she caught herself from saying Hogwarts just in time. "It almost reminds me of home," she repeated quietly.

"But they're red," Dave said, wrinkling his nose, thankfully not noticing her slip-up.

"What wrong with red?" she asked defensively. "Red is a beautiful colour that more people should appreciate instead of making fun of."

"Relax; the way you speak of it, one almost thinks you're a redhead."

"So what if I am?" she challenged with a raised eyebrow.

Dave didn't answer immediately and considered her for a moment. "It might suit you," he finally shrugged. "Red isn't the only thing that makes this place nauseating, just look at them trying to swallow each others faces over there," he said, wrinkling his nose while nodding towards Joshua and his girlfriend. They actually in fact looked like they were trying to eat one another. "Imagine having to look at that every time you're at work."

"Imaging having to look at that every time you're at home, you and Joyce aren't exactly much different," Ginny shot back.

"Touché," Dave chuckled. "Joyce seems to have this thing that she always has to show off whenever someone else is around. A bit annoying actually," he continued while concentrating on the glass in his hands, seeming more to talk to himself than anyone else.

"Why are you with her then?" Ginny couldn't help but asking.

"Safety, I guess," he shrugged. He suddenly looked up at her, stopping the movement of his hands as if she had startled him. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Ginny asked, restraining herself from panicking. Had she done some sort of magic without realising it?

"I don't know exactly. You just seem to have an aura around you that makes people open up without intending to."

Ginny was more confused than ever. "What?" She couldn't understand what he meant.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "It was nothing."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's notes:** Sorry about the long wait. This was a difficult chapter to write since I didn't know exactly how much information I wanted to reveal. Now I have some good and some bad news. The good news is that I know exactly where this story is going. The bad news is that I don't know how to get there. However, seeing as I'm feeling very motivated to write right now, you can expect an update within a week or two (I hope I didn't promise too much there).  
Enjoy reading! Don't forget to review!

* * *

Chapter 6

Nightmares and matchmaking

He looked up and considered the pale face staring back at him through the mirror. His half-long blond hair was hanging in his eyes. Drops of sweat had formed around his forehead and neck. Another nightmare. At least Joyce wasn't with him this time. It would have been hard to explain again. Two nightmares in one week. He hadn't even had them that often as a child.

Maybe it had to do with Cath. No, that was too farfetched. But still possible.

He didn't know exactly what it was about her. Did she really have an Aura or was it just something he had imagined. It must have been his imagination. Despite the long time of research he had done, he had never found any evidence that an Aura could be present in Muggles as well. That is, until now. But one couldn't really call it evidence if it had just happened once.

It had started at Hogwarts actually. With his friend Blaise Zabini. Zabini had seemed to have had this weird ability to always make the people around him feel at ease. Slowly but surely, he developed a theory that wizards could possess a special type of force field that he like to call Aura. With Blaise's permission, he had done some simple experiments and in the end found that an aura was in fact present around him.

At first he didn't know what to do about it. Was it something that only Blaise possessed, or was it present in other wizards as well? He tried to examine some of the other Slytherins as well when at Hogwarts. Unfortunately they hadn't been as cooperative. He had only found an Aura present in one other person and that was Millicent Bullstode, whose ability was to make people feel tired. When trying to find a connection it proved to be impossible since Millicent and Blaise were as far opposites as two people could be. The only thing he could think of them having in common was that they were Slytherins.

By the end of his sixth year, he had been unable to push away his father anymore. He was forced to join the Death Eaters and because of that, stay locked up in his room all summer. He couldn't very well walk around in town with a brand new Mark on his arm.

The Malfoy Manor was used as hideout for the Death Eaters. Being locked up, awful as it was, gave him a new chance to try out his theory. Death Eaters were generally stupid, which meant that they were easily fooled. He experimented on most of them. Some had an Aura, most didn't.

He still couldn't find a pattern or anything to prove or conclude his theory.

The day he appeared in battle he was one of the few to be captured immediately. First he just considered himself lucky to be away from the Death Eaters. Although they had proved helpful to his research, they were not the brightest bunch to be around. However, when he found out what the Ministry wanted, he got terrified.

Somehow, they had found out about his research. They now wanted to offer him money and equipment to continue with it. It might have sounded like a dream come true if it hadn't been for their ulterior motive. Apparently they thought he knew much more about it than he did, and for some reason had come up with the theory that this was the ultimate weapon against Voldemort. They now wanted him to make an aura from scratch to place around the Boy-Who-Somehow-Still-Lived so that he could finish off Voldemort.

Well, he wasn't one to please. He was sick and tired of the war and just wanted to get away from there. He had no idea how to actually make an Aura, but he didn't let the Ministry find that out. He agreed with everything they asked him to, for a while. When he had gained enough trust to get the freedom he needed to escape, he did. The last thing he saw before boarding the plane to America was a poster with the text:

_WANTED_

_Draco Malfoy_

_Highly dangerous_

_If seen, contact Ministry Authorities immediately_

_Reward 100 000 Galleons_

--------

"You disappeared from the party yesterday. Did you hook up with a cute boy?" Diane asked, too curious to sit still.

They were in Diane's dorm room. She was sitting on the bed bouncing up and down while looking at Ginny who were seated in a bean bag, as soda in one hand. Chloe was seated by the desk, looking for something on the computer.

"Not really," Ginny said. "Some guy tried to feel me up but Joshua stopped him. Joshua was as bored with the party as I was so we left."

"Really! Wow! I always thought you would hook up with someone on campus. I mean, it was just a matter of time before someone would ask you out with your looks, but I never thought it would be Josh. I mean he's great and all, I just never considered him your type and…"

"Whoa! Wait up a second," Ginny cut her off. "We didn't hook up. He offered to give me a ride home and on the way home, his girlfriend called."

"Oh," Diane said, seeming a bit disappointed.

"The girlfriend needed a ride home so we went to pick her up at her job," Ginny finished.

"What a bummer," Diane commented, clearly expecting more gossip.

Ginny had a few more things to say, she just didn't know how to bring them up. Surprisingly enough, Chloe gave her an opening. A huge opening.

"That doesn't explain why Dave drove you home," she remarked and turned away from the computer with a neutral look on her face.

"He did?" Diane exclaimed.

"Yes, I was getting to that actually," Ginny said, relieved that she hadn't have to have been the one bringing the subject up. "At Josh's girlfriends work, we meet Dave, who worked there as well."

"Josh has a girlfriend who works at the Valentine Café!" Diane shrieked. "That's hilarious! Eddie is never going to let him live it down when I tell him."

"Isn't it more amusing that Dave works there?" Ginny asked. "He just doesn't seem like the type who would do such a thing."

"Dave has been working there since he got here. The campus doesn't offer many jobs and this was the only one available," Chloe answered since Diane was still rolling around on the floor. "He managed to keep it a secret for about a year but when Eddie and the guys found out he was the butt of every joke for quite some time."

"So that's why he works there," Ginny commented silently to herself. She had gotten one of the answers she wanted. Now she only had to ask the second question. "Does Joyce know he works there?"

"Yeah, she does," Diane answered, finally having recovered enough to be able to talk. "That's where they met actually. She was on a date with some dude she had been with for a surprising amount of time."

"Meaning one month," Chloe added.

"In the bar she saw Dave and started flirting immediately. If I'm not mistaken she dumped that poor boy that same night," Diane finished as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"How long ago was this?" Ginny asked. She ignored the suspicious look Chloe was giving her.

"Oh, about three months I think," Diane said, oblivious to the exchange between the other two girls. "Oh, I forgot! I promised I would meet Eddie by the coffee shop. You two wait right here and we'll go together, ok?" She didn't wait for an answer before running off to the bathroom down the hall, probably to retouch her makeup.

"So," Chloe started but Ginny was faster, thinking she knew what Chloe was going to say.

"I'm not trying to steal Dave from Joyce, no matter how annoying I find her. I'm really not looking for a relationship right now."

"Remember I told you they seemed pretty serious?" Chloe asked, ignoring Ginny's remark. "I've changed my mind about that."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, surprised seeing as how Chloe had pretty much threatened her to stay away from Dave.

"Did you see Joyce at the party yesterday?"

"I saw that she was there, but nothing else. Why?"

"She was flirting with every single guy she got in contact with, and she wasn't even drunk so she has absolutely nothing to blame it on."

They were quiet for a moment, Ginny not really knowing what to make of this information.

"The reason I wanted you to stay away from Dave was because I thought he was happy with Joyce. He is a very reserved person and doesn't really make contact with people unless they make the first move. I think he would have been really lonely if he had not met Eddie the first day of school."

"I can relate," Ginny said quietly, knowing exactly how much Eddie was to thank for all the friends she had made in such a short time.

"I've known Dave pretty much since he got here and Joyce was the first he dated. I thought they were happy together and I didn't want him to get hurt or anything and I was afraid that if you made a move on him, Joyce would notice and break up with him and he would get all depressed. Truth to be told, I hate Joyce."

"You do?" Ginny asked, lightening up. Finally she had someone she could vent to if Joyce decided to be a bitch against her.

"Yes. She truly doesn't deserve Dave, especially after the way she acted last night."

"What are you going to do then?" Ginny asked.

"Tell him, and then let him decide what to do. But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place."

"Oh," Ginny said, feeling a blush starting to cover her cheeks.

"You didn't see Diane and Eddie at the party yesterday did you?"

"Not together, no. Why?"

"After a couple of beers they got very cuddly. They have liked each other for quite some time, both refusing to admit it of course. I think now would be the perfect time to get them to go out. Want to help me get them together?"

"You really have made yourself official matchmaker at this University, haven't you?" Ginny laughed.

"Definitely. So, what do you say?" Chloe said with a mischievous smile.

"I'm in," Ginny said with a matching smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Sorry I didn't keep my promise, although you have to admit it was a pretty fast update. I've just realised that the first couple of chapters have no titles. This is something I'm planning on changing soon (if anybody's interested). I hope this chapter didn't go too fast, if you think so, please tell me. Other than that, don't forget to review, they all mean so much to me!

* * *

Chapter 7

A lot can happen in a day

What's a girl to do if her friend was cheated on by his girlfriend?

_Tell the friend, of course!_

What's a girl to do if the girlfriend is her roommate?

_Tell him anyway, of course!_

Yeah right!

-----------

What's a girl to do if the guy she likes recently broke up with his girlfriend?

_Stay away from him and give him time to get over her, of course!_

What's a girl to do if she really hated to girl he dated and thinks she can become a much better girlfriend?

_Still stay away from him, of course!_

Yeah right!

---------------

What's a girl to do if the guy she likes who broke up with his girlfriend disappeared?

_Not do anything, of course!_

What's a girl to do if this guy also happens to be a friend of hers and all of her other friends?

_Maybe it's best to go look for him after all…_

For once, you might be right!

-----------

It had only been a week since the party but a lot had happened since then.

First of all, the guys had told Dave about Joyce cheating on him. Dave had confronted Joyce about it, who after a while had admitted being unfaithful, not only at the party but at other occasions prior to that. After a huge fight, they broke up.

A day later, when Eddie had gone over to see how Dave was doing, Dave had disappeared. Eddie had quickly gathered all of his friends and they had looked for him everywhere. Ginny had been in charge of watching her dorm room the entire day in case Dave decided to pay a visit to Joyce. He had never showed up.

Several days later, he was still missing.

Second of all, Chloe had put her master plan in motion and done everything she could to get Eddie and Diane to admit their feelings for each other. Ginny had gotten tired of seeing her fail time after time and had after a few days taken matters into her own hands. She locked up both Eddie and Diane in a closet, just like she had done with her brother and Hermione a few years ago. It had been a lot easier this time since she didn't have to worry about stealing any wands. When they were let out many hours later, they had both had suspiciously happy smiles on their faces.

Last but not least, Joyce had moved out. Ginny was so happy that she nearly jumped through the roof when she received the news of Joyce transferring to another school. Joyce had packed up and left within a day and Ginny hadn't received another roommate yet, much to her pleasure.

At the moment, Ginny was lounging on the couch in the living room she had previously had to share. She was lazily flipping through the channels on the TV hoping to find something worth watching when someone knocked on the door. Ginny sighed heavily before moving to get up.

She opened the door and was face to face with a box. _"Great, a salesman,"_ she thought.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested," she said with a bored tone. She was about to close the door but a foot was placed in the way.

"Actually, I was just returning some stuff to Joyce. Maybe you could give it to her."

"Joyce doesn't…" Ginny began when looking up, but stopped abruptly when she saw who she was talking to. "Dave!"

Dave gave her a sheepish grin while shifting his feet a bit.

"What are you doing here?! Where have you been?" Ginny nearly shrieked in her surprise. She briefly considered running to the phone to call Eddie over, but her concern about losing sight of Dave won over.

"I'd rather not discuss it here," he said, gesturing with his head towards the hallway.

"Oh, of course not! Come in." Ginny moved out of the way so that Dave could enter. He hesitated for a second but then accepted her invitation.

Dave walked into the living room and placed the box on the floor. He took a quick look around the room, taking in the surroundings. The thought of calling Eddie still bugged Ginny, but she ignored it, instead focusing on keeping Dave in sight.

"Where are all of Joyce's things?" he asked, a bit confused.

"As I was going to say before, Joyce doesn't live here anymore. She transferred to another school a few days ago," Ginny explained.

Dave didn't do anything but slightly incline his head in a nod. "Do you know why?" he asked after a while.

"No, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with you," she assured him quickly. "Rumour goes that she couldn't afford this school anymore."

To her surprise, Dave laughed. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him and when he had calmed down he answered,

"I'm not surprised, that's all. The way she threw money around her, I'm actually surprised she managed to stay here for as long as she did."

Ginny smiled knowingly. Joyce had been the model of a shopping-addict, always coming back to the dorm with a new shopping bag on her arm.

"What will you do with her stuff now?" Ginny asked, inclining her head to the box in Dave's arms. "I can help you burn it if you want," she suggested with a playful smile.

"Thanks for the offer," he laughed, "but I think I'll just give it to the Lost and Found department."

They stood in silence for a while. The thought of calling Eddie over kept nagging her in the back of her mind. However, for some unexplainable reason she wanted to find out where Dave had been herself. She cleared her throat softly and Dave turned his head toward her.

"Do the others know you're back?"

"No. I didn't want a million questions fired at me the second I got back," he said and smiled at her. She couldn't help but blush as that was exactly what she had done.

"Sorry," she mumbled while looking down at the floor.

"It's alright. I expected it," he said while grinning cheekily. He walked over to her couch and sat down on it. He placed his arm on the back of the couch and turned so he was still facing her.

"Will you give us any answers then?" she asked in a tone that could have been a flirt, had it not been for the fact that Ginny was genuinely interested. The worst heat had disappeared from her cheeks so she joined him on the couch.

"Nope," he said, still with a cheeky smile.

If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that he was flirting with her. Maybe he was? She quickly shook the thought out of her head.

"Seriously though, will you give us any answers?"

He considered her for a while, staring intently into her eyes. Normally, she would have looked away when having someone stare so concentrated at her, but not now. "I wish I could give you some. I wish I could give myself some." He was speaking as though he was only talking to himself, although he still looked her straight into her eyes. Ginny stared back. His eyes were deep grey; she had never noticed that before. From what she could remember they had been blue. She was so into her own thoughts that she barely heard his whispered sentence. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" she asked in a soft whisper. Unconsciously she leaned in closer to catch his response.

"Making me want to open up." His gaze left her eyes and travelled downward to her lips. Just as unconsciously, he leaned in closer too.

Their lips where only inches apart when he looked back into her eyes. His deep-grey orbs didn't give her any indication of whether to close the distance or not. Though, her own mind told her to. She leaned in even a bit closer. He didn't pull back. She gathered all the courage she could and leaned in to….

_Bang, bang, bang!_

Their lips had been only millimetres apart when the intruder knocked on the door.

"Cathy! Are you there?!" Ginny groaned as she recognised Eddie's voice. Unwillingly, she got up from the couch to open the door.

"What do want, Eddie?" she asked, a bit grumpier than she intended.

"I saw Dave's car outside of his dorm. He wasn't there so I thought that maybe he had gone to see Joyce and….Dave!" Dave had too gotten off the couch and with hands in pockets he inclined his head in a greeting.

Eddie didn't have quite the same idea of how a greeting should be. The second he noticed Dave, he broke into a run and wrapped his arms around him in a big, but manly, hug. Ignoring the other man's discomfort, he crushed him over harder in his arms.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick about you! We've looked for you everywhere; I got almost the entire campus to join us in our search! You can't just take off like that!" He went on rambling for quite a while before Dave managed to shake Eddie off him.

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. I just needed to get away to get some room to think by myself," he shrugged. "Am I not allowed to do that?" he added.

"Well of course you can do that, as long as you call every hour or so, so we'll know what you're doing," Eddie answered with no hint of joke in his tone.

Dave rolled his eyes at him.

"We have to call the others!" Eddie burst out suddenly, looking as if he had been hit with a big realisation. "We'll tell them to meet us at the coffee place and you can tell us everything."

"Eddie, there really isn't much to tell…." Dave begun but was ignored.

"You're coming too, Cathy," Eddie instructed her. "Let's go!"

"I have to go drop something off first, you two go ahead," Dave said. Ginny smiled at Dave behind Eddie's back, immediately seeing his attempt to escape. Unfortunately for Dave, Eddie saw right through it too.

"Oh no, we're not! I'm coming with you. I'm never taking my eyes off you, ever again. You hear me?" Eddie was so serious he was starting to remind Ginny of her Mum scolding the twins. "Cathy, you call the others and we'll meet you there as soon as possible. Great."

Before she had any time to react, Eddie had pulled Dave and the box out the door and closed it. She sighed heavily. So much for having a quiet afternoon in her calm living room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Here you go. A new pretty short chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I did writing it. In fact, I feel so inspired that I'll go and write the next one immediately. Don't forget to** **review!**

Chapter 8

British specialties

What's a girl to do if she almost kissed a boy?

Kiss him again to see if he meant it, of course!

What's a girl to do if their friends are so much in the way that a moment alone is impossible?

Excuse herself to the bathroom and wink, of course!

Yeah, right!

----------

What's a girl to do if the guy she kissed excused himself to the bathroom?

Not read too much into it, of course!

What's a girl to do if he winked at her?

Then follow him, of course!

Yeah…maybe…

---------

What's a girl to do if the wink was really just a blink and the guy really just had to go to the bathroom?

Run and hide in shame, of course!

What's a girl to do if she's blushing and all her friends are sitting outside in the diner waiting for her to come back?

Run faster, of course!

Well, it's a good thing that didn't happen then.

-------

"I just needed some space!" Dave explained for what must have been the bazillionth time. "It had nothing to do with anything you or Joyce said or did, it was just something I had to do."

Eddie squinted his eyes at Dave for a moment as if he could force the real reason he left out of him by sheer will-power. Realising that it didn't work he gave up and stated clearly, "I still think you are not telling us everything:"

Voices of agreement rang around the table. Dave rolled his eyes in response.

Ginny picked up her chocolate milkshake and took a long sip. For the past half-hour she had sat trying to find a plausible reason to why she had to leave this very important questioning of Dave. So far she had come up with nothing.

Just like Eddie she gave up on trying something impossible and let her mind drift to other things instead.

It didn't take long for it to be back in her dorm. She had been sitting on her sofa when Dave had leaned in. Or was it she that had leaned in? Anyway, their lips had been centimetres away from touching and they probably would have had not Eddie barged through the door at that exact moment.

But what did it mean? Did it mean that he was looking for a rebound from Joyce? Or was he looking for someone new to be serious with? Did it matter?

She herself couldn't decide which she wanted it to be. If it was the first one then at least it meant their friendship wouldn't be all messed up like it would be if it was the second one.

But then again, if it was the second one she would have a steady boyfriend. A boyfriend she really liked.

She mentally slapped herself.

She hadn't come here to find someone else to control her like Harry had done. Not that he had done it on purpose; it had just turned out that way. She had been too blinded by her childhood crush to do anything but follow him wherever he went. In the end the only solution had been to leave completely.

She didn't put any blame on Harry. He hadn't meant to have such an effect on her. Sometimes she wondered if he ever wanted to have such an effect on her or if he was just with her because it was expected of him.

Either way, it didn't matter anymore. She had left, saving them both the trouble of a miserable marriage together.

"Does anyone want anything more?"

Ginny were brought back from her thoughts by Dave's question. Several orders were heard from around the group and Dave stood up to show that he would go get them.

"Cathy, do you want anything?"

Ginny was about to answer 'no' when she noticed the tiny flutter of Dave's eyelid. Did he just wink at her?

"Sure," she answered a bit unsurely, "I'll come with, to help you carry."

"Good," Eddie said, "then we can be certain he won't run away again."

Ginny stood up and followed Dave to the counter.

"So, do you want to run away with me?" Dave asked once they stopped.

"What?!" she turned towards him and was about to demand what he meant when she noticed he was smiling at her. "It's not nice to joke with people when they have their mind elsewhere," she muttered while he tried to contain his laughter.

"So you're thinking about it too, then? You know, if you did run away with me we could pick it up where we left off."

Again, she was about to ask what he meant. As it was, it became clear to her before she could turn towards him again. She blushed slightly, her mind truly back at the almost-kiss now.

"I wouldn't mind in case you were wondering." Ginny quickly spun around to face him to see if he was once again joking with her. The expression she caught was instead one of surprise very much like her own.

Dave muttered something that sounded awfully a lot like "you're doing it again" and this time it was he who turned away.

"Do you remember what they wanted? Our _dear_ friends?" It was clear he did not want to discuss his comment. As an answer Ginny decided to use some of what he had before: Humour.

"No, why don't we just order tea for the bunch of them and they might leave us alone about the whole British thing."

To her surprise, Dave laughed. An honest, clear laugh. "I say let's. Excuse me! Could we have six cups of tea, please? Also a cup black coffee for me and…" he looked at Ginny.

"I'll have a cup of coffee too," she said and smiled to the bartender. She glanced at Dave and saw that he was considering her carefully. "I thought you were a tea-drinker," he explained at her unuttered question.

"Why? Just because I'm British? I never was a big fan of tea. The only times I drank it was whenever I had a cold and the Pep…Cough syrup didn't kick in at once."

She looked away, grateful she hadn't slipped up completely. If she had kept her eyes on Dave she might have noticed the pensive look on his face.

"_Was she about to say Pepper-up Potion? No, that can't have been it."_

"So, what do you say? Leave them and run?" Ginny joked as they got their mugs in an attempt to get back the mood they'd been in before.

They walked back to the table in quiet laughter.

"What's so funny?" Joshua demanded at once. Apparently he had just done or said something rather embarrassing by the looks on the others' faces. They were all attempting not too laugh.

"Nothing," Dave defended them, "Here are your drinks."

He and Ginny sat back down in their seats and took a sip each from their coffees as to not make the others think they had done something to the drinks. It was an unnecessary precaution as their friend nearly threw themselves at the mugs, thinking it was the tasty specialties they had ordered.

They nearly all drank at the same time and thereby also started spluttering simultaneously.

"What is this crap?" Eddie demanded ungraciously.

"Why Eddie, aren't you the one who so often has asked to try a typical British delicacy?" Dave asked innocently.

"I meant a cake, not boiling water," he responded trying to wipe his tongue off on his sleeve.

Diane took a few more sips and said, "It's actually not that bad."

"Speak for yourself," Josh muttered and pushed his cup as far away from him as his arm could reach as though it was contagious in some way.

The mood lightened enormously as the conversation was completely moved away from Dave's disappearance. They stayed in the coffee shop for several more hours, just enjoying each others' company.

When it grew dark and they were thrown out around closing time, most went separate ways. Even Eddie and Diane whom had been inseparable lately parted ways, though Ginny could swear she had heard Eddie whisper 'see you later' before taking off.

At first it had seemed as though he had forgotten Dave had been away. However, just a few metres away he called over his shoulder:

"And don't you dare run away again Dave! You know I will find you!"

Dave had chuckled in response.

In the end the only people left were Ginny and Dave. She didn't know why she had stayed for so long. It was as though a part of her wanted to be alone with Dave for just a moment to see if the almost-kiss had meant something more.

He seemed to be on the same trail of thought.

"So," she said.

"So?" he said.

"Are you heading back to your place?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"Where else were you planning on heading?" Ginny asked, a tiny bit concerned that he would run away again.

"Your place," he answered simply.

"My place? Why so?"

"I'll give you two reasons and let you pick the one you like the best." He took a few steps closer to her so that they were only inches apart. "Reason number 1: I need to go back to fetch the stuff I lent to Joyce." He leaned down so that his lips were millimetres away from hers. "Reason number 2: I walk you back so we can continue this."

He closed the distance.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Hello again, dear readers. I personally think I deserve some credit for the quick update. Check the endnotes for more comments. Enjoy! **

Chapter 9

A secret is never kept for long

What had happened yesterday had surprised him just as much as it had Cathy.

He hadn't come there with the intention of kissing her. He had come there with the intention of breaking up with Joyce so he could kiss her.

He still couldn't put his finger on what made her so irresistible. In fact, it should have had the opposite effect since she had somehow made his nightmares worse and more frequent.

Except last night.

Last night had been amazing.

Fortunately for him, she had taken the second reason to heart and they had continued the kiss in her dorm. They hadn't taken it all the way, they couldn't. After all, he had just gotten out of a relationship with Joyce. Besides, as she had pointed out, they barely knew each other.

This was one thing she had hit spot-on. She barely knew Dave, seeing as how they had barely been alone together before. He shortly wondered what she would say if he introduced himself as Draco.

That thought was quickly pushed out of mind.

He couldn't.

No one could know his real identity, not even a simple Muggle.

Even so, Cathy was anything but simple. He still hadn't been able to figure out what it was with her that seemed to be an Aura. For he had decided that this was not what it was. She was a Muggle and Muggles couldn't possess Auras, that much he had concluded from the research the Ministry had made him do.

During his time away, all he had thought about was Cathy. He had pondered about the Aura, and her personality, and her lips.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. This was probably what had made it so easy to decide that the best way to get closer to her was to date her. That way, even if it wasn't anything special with her, he still would have been spending his time with someone beautiful and intelligent, as opposed to just wasting it on someone pretty.

The downside with being close to her, he had thought, would most likely be an even greater increase in nightmares. They had been bad before she came, become worse when she was there, and then being almost unbearable during the time he had left town.

What was the most shocking though was that last night, the night he had spent in her apartment, laying close to her side with an arm wrapped around her waist and her cheek close to his chest, had been the best night's sleep he had had in years.

He had woken up at 8:00 a.m. At first he thought he had been awoken by yet another nightmare but then found that he hadn't had any dream whatsoever that night. He was surprised to find himself fully clothed, apart from a pair of shoes, and alone in a bed that wasn't his own.

He suddenly heard a crash from the kitchen, a swear words and a few angry steps.

He smiled to himself.

Getting up from his, correction: _her_, bed, he walked into the adjacent living room/kitchen.

There he found Cathy, muttering to herself, using a brush to sweep together the pieces of the cup she had dropped.

"Good morning," he said.

She dropped the brush in surprise and looked up at him.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he began to explain and walked over to help her with the cup, but she quickly cut him off.

"No, no. Don't worry about it. I'll just pick it up." She bent down and picked up the brush again, swept up the last pieces and put them in the rubbish bin. "Breakfast?" she asked and began serving it before he was given any time to answer.

Instead of guessing what she was nervous about, he helped by placing the contents from the fridge on the table. When she seemed to have taken out everything she wanted, including a bottle of chilli sauce and a can of crushed tomatoes, he sat down at the table and pulled out the chair next to him for her.

She ignored it. Instead she seated herself opposite of him with a cup of coffee in her hands.

Sighing at her behaviour he helped himself to breakfast and ate in silence. When he was almost finished with the fifth toast, he noted that she had barely moved since they sat down. She still held her coffee cup close to her lips and took a sip every now and then.

"What?" he finally asked when he had finished the last of his toasts.

She remained silent for a few more moments, then said, "What did last night mean?"

"Whatever we want it to mean," he answered simply.

"So what do you want it to mean?" she insisted.

He shrugged. He didn't want to seem as though he had spent too much time thinking about it, even when he was with Joyce. "I guess that I like you and want to date you. Ending up in bed on the first night, that can't really qualify as a date wasn't optimal of course, but that is what happened and I guess we will just have to go from there." He grinned at her, letting her know that he was joking.

She regarded him for a while longer. "I think I like you too," she finally said. "It's just that…I didn't exactly come here to look for a relationship the first thing I did."

"Who says you can't find what you're not looking for?"

"I just need to know that I'm not your 'Joyce rebound'. I've been a rebound girl before and I can tell you it's not fun on any level."

"I think for you to be a rebound girl we have to have sex, and since we haven't, you don't qualify. Besides, Joyce isn't so difficult to get over that I'll need a rebound. You're one of the reasons I considered breaking up with her before anyway." He mentally slapped himself. Why oh why did he let so much slip when he was around her.

"You did?" she asked surprised.

He didn't answer; it felt unnecessary to repeat that piece of information.

"Then there is something else I need to know," she said after observing him for yet some time.

"What?"

"Are you going to ask me out or are we going to have one of those relationships where we sneak around and snog behind our friends' backs?" she asked with a playful smile.

As an answer he stood up and walked over to her side of the table. He bent down and stopped when his lips were once again millimetres away from hers.

"Wanna have dinner with me tonight?"

-------

Somehow, they started with a combination of Ginny's question.

He took her out on dates. They had dinner in public and sometimes in private too. However, neither had felt it necessary to tell any of their friends they were dating.

Because that was what they were doing. They weren't just friends with benefits or something like that. Ginny would at times even go so far as to say they were a couple. However, she reminded herself that she wouldn't call them that until they told their friends.

They sometimes joked that maybe they shouldn't openly tell them, but simply start snogging during one of their movie nights and let them figure it out for themselves. Ginny however discarded that idea as an actual plan.

After much discussion they together decided that they would tell their friends whenever they felt it natural to throw in during a conversation.

As it was, one of these opportunities presented themselves sooner than expected.

Ginny had just gone out to have a simple cup of coffee with Diane and Chloe. She barely listened to Diane's ranting about Eddie disgusting habit of leaving old socks laying around the apartment until Dave's name suddenly appeared.

"What did you say?" Ginny asked politely.

"Eddie's been a bit worried lately that Dave is running away every now and then. He hasn't told me openly but I know he sometimes goes over to Dave's apartment to see if he is still there," she laughed a little at this weird obsession. "Lately, it seems as if he's been there less and less. You wouldn't happen to know where he goes off to?" Diane asked.

"_Sure I do. He either takes me out to dinner or fool__ around with me in my dorm room," _Ginny thought but stopped herself before saying it out loud. Somehow it didn't seem like the optimal way of telling them about her relationship with Dave. Instead she decided to carefully introduce the subject. "Maybe he's seeing someone."

"Good for him!" Chloe burst out. "If you ask me, he's doing the right thing. Hanging around with Joyce that much can't have been good for him. I'm glad he didn't waste much time wallowing over her."

"Actually…" Ginny tried to cut in but Diane was quick to pick up the thread.

"But then again, he did seem to enjoy going out with her. Who knows if his taste in girlfriends has changed just because she left town. Maybe he's dating another airhead now. That must be it!" she exclaimed as though she had made a world revolting discovery. "He's dating an airhead! That's why he hasn't told the guys about her! I knew he couldn't change his mind so quickly about it. I have to tell Eddie. Chloe, you coming? Cathy?"

She was out the door before either girl could answer. Neither seemed to have noticed Ginny's attempt to interrupt her rant which resulted in Ginny almost jumping in surprise when Chloe said,

"You're the airhead, aren't you?"

Ginny smiled weakly in response.

**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed reading. I'm not sure if I moved the plot along too quickly, I just didn't feel that the secrecy of the relationship should drag along for longer than necessary. The next update will probably not be as quick so I hope this will keep you satisfied for some time! I'll do my best though! Don't forget to review, it means so much to me!**


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